


one step back

by purplesmiles



Series: time travel au's [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: A lot of feels, Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fix-It, Fluff, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Good Orochimaru (Naruto), Happy Ending, Hyuuga Neji Lives, I have a soft spot for itachi, Powerful Uzumaki Naruto, Protective Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama, Romance, Time Travel, Uchiha Itachi Lives, Uzushiogakure | Hidden Eddy Village, cant see him sad, for now at least, half the cool shinobi decide to leave konoha, im not the biggest fan of sakura but i dont hate her, no ones gonna die ok?, stupid author, whipped sasuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:28:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25575076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplesmiles/pseuds/purplesmiles
Summary: They know they can't win, even defeating Madara wouldn't really be a victory with no one to celebrate. So they choose the next best option, stop things from happening before they ever happen.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, others?
Series: time travel au's [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2109783
Comments: 46
Kudos: 450





	1. Chapter 1

Naruto and Shikamaru sat facing each other, a sheet of plane parchment spread between them, covered in various designs and words, every stroke of the brush made with full accuracy, an incomplete seal. 

Naruto worked on it silently, completely focused. the others were scattered inside the hall they were staying in for the time being. Sasuke and Gaara were on the guard duty, while Kakashi and Ino checked the others for injuries. Since the day they lost sakura, their medical team had been severely understaffed. Tsunade could only do so much. Somewhere they knew that they didn't have a great chance of making it, but they couldn't lose hope, not now. Not after everyone who believed in them. 

"The barrier is up," said Orochimaru as he stepped in, clearly exhausted with putting up a three-man barrier himself. it was a little funny, how the ones surviving had managed to put down all their differences and work together for what they had left. Orochimaru truly grieved over the death of Jiraiya, he had broken down into sobs in Tsunade's arms and told her how once she and Jiraiya left, he was alone. How easy it was for Danzo to fill his head with poison with no one to care about  _ him.  _

Somewhere along this road to getting back their world, everyone had acknowledged Naruto as their leader, it just happened. 

Obito nodded to him and took over the patrol, to check for any remaining survivors as well as the location of their enemy. He had joined their team after his fight with Naruto, as well as his momentary death and confrontation with Rin. He couldn't quite forgive himself, even if the others managed too, but this felt right. Being on the right side, with his comrades. No, maybe he will never forgive himself, but he will spend every remaining minute of his life making up for what he has done. 

They would probably stay in this hideout for a few more days before they had to move again, everyone inside had to wear an invisibility seal, made by Naruto himself. It didn't quite make them invisible, but just as good. Their chakra, scent or movements were completely invisible to anyone outside their group. 

"Right, it's almost done, have everyone come back inside. There's no need for anyone to remain on guard duty, I think everyone should be here," Naruto said without lifting his head. Shikamaru nodded and stood up, admiring the delicate and complicated seal for a moment before going to call the others. Within ten minutes everyone had assembled into the hall. The seal took only a few more minutes before Naruto finally stood up. Their last possible chance of winning this war was this seal that would allow them to stop things before they get worse.

_ A month earlier _

" _ Naruto, I think you know we can't win this the way we are going on now, I have an idea" he heard a familiar deep voice grumble. "What is it?" Naruto mumbled distracted as he fought off a few Zetsu clones.  _

_ "We go back in time." _

__

_ ''Yeah that-, wait what? this is not the best time for these jokes as you may have noticed," he replied, killing of the remaining clone. _

__

_ "It's a gamble, but it may be the best option we have, you have chakra from all the nine tailed beasts, and the Uchiha brat has the rinnegan, it is very likely you both can return to the past," Kurama said, voice serious. "Between you, me, and the Uchiha, we might just be able to do it." _

\---

They had begun working on the seal and other arrangements immediately after that. Everyone agreed that this was the best option. Right now, even if they won the war, there wouldn't be much left to celebrate. Going back and preventing things from happening was indeed an ideal situation. after much discussion Naruto and Sasuke both were mentally prepared for this, and now the seal was complete.

Both Naruto and Sasuke were at full chakra, along with Kurama. they were ready to go back.

Obito, Tsunade and Orochimaru had each given naruto a bit of their chakra, so that when they go back, they could return this chakra into the respective owners and give back their memories up till here. It was best that not many people know about the time travel, but certain figures of authority, as well as major figures of the war, were needed in order to go with their plan.

Also, chakra impressions could only be given during certain conditions. Tsunade had the strength of the hundred seals fully restored, Obito was a former Jinchuriki and could spare his chakra, and well, Orochimaru was hardly human. Two children, even if they had the memories of their older selves and the powers of the sage of six paths couldn't do everything themselves, especially not in their previous bodies. 

Everything was complete, Sasuke and Naruto sat on the floor as the seal surrounded them, glowing golden from the amount of chakra it contained. No one said their goodbyes, for they would see them again. They had already talked about this, made peace with it, everyone had. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other once, their eyes portraying their emotions before they closed them and felt a pull at the back of their mind. There were so many people they could save, Neji and Jiraiya and Itachi and Sakura and Choji and Nagato and all the jinchuriki and  _ so many more.  _

They could do this, they couldn't fail, they  _ wouldn't  _ fail, not after everything. 


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto could feel his consciousness slowly creeping back in, but he didn’t open his eyes, not yet. He didn’t know if he was prepared to face so many faces that had lost their life right in front of him. He didn’t know if he could handle all the glares and whispers he received on a daily bases before he had proven himself. He knew the plan had worked, he could feel his surroundings full of people, not just the handful of those in their camp. 

He could feel his own body, now small and frail and twelve-year-old. He didn’t know if he could ever look at the third Hokage again without being bitter at him for not telling him about his parents. He understood why it was important, of course, he did, but the man had also promised his dying mother he would take care of him. he knew he was being bitter, knew that being the Hokage meant looking after the entire village. but he hadn’t done anything to save Naruto from the villager's insults and treatment as well. 

He couldn’t just let all that go, he might've grown up a lot faster after so many of his friends and comrades died. But he was still just a seventeen year old, or maybe twelve now, who wanted others to acknowledge him.

That's why he wanted to become the Hokage, so everyone knew who he was, Uzumaki Naruto, not the demon brat or any other names the people used to call him. He wasn’t too sure now, he didn’t want to become the Hokage anymore, he didn’t even want to stay in Konoha anymore, Sasuke and he had talked about this before, Konoha didn’t feel like home to either of them anymore, hadn’t for a long time, not when it was responsible for all the grief in both their lives. 

But he wasn’t alone anymore, he had Sasuke with him. They had both agreed to not change anything from their original timeline before the academy exams, except for dealing with Mizuki which would be done quickly and neatly.

Kurama was asleep, which wouldn’t change for quite some time, he had used a lot of his chakra, and deserved a good rest. When naruto did finally open his eyes, it was almost dawn judging from the view outside his window, he hesitantly got up, feeling a little weird in a child’s body again, but it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He couldn’t use the Kurama mode yet, since the seal was firmly locked right now, but with a little concentration, he found he could easily slip into the sage mode. 

He didn’t try the sage of six paths mode, because he didn’t know what that would do to his frail body. He was too thin for his age, and this time he could actually feel it. He was suddenly desperate to meet Sasuke, to see for himself that he was alive and okay and  _ there. _

Sasuke’s and Naruto's relationship had changed a lot during their survival period. At first, they worked together because there wasn’t any there choice, but slowly that had changed too. Sometimes when they had patrol duties together Sasuke would him his regrets and the pain that killing Itachi had bought him. Naruto, in turn, told him about meeting his mother and father’s chakra impressions and how he felt angry at everyone for hiding it from him. 

They slowly became more comfortable around each other, falling back to the familiar routine of insults and bickering.

Naruto slapped his cheeks lightly with both hands and decided to wake up properly and go take a bath, after a year-long of eating fish and bread, sometimes the rare meat, having instant ramen felt like a blessing. 

He hadn’t had ramen in a very long time. there weren’t many luxuries when you were fighting to stay alive. Finishing up the somewhat familiar and nostalgic routine he made his way to the academy. When he saw students coming in, chattering and laughing like everything was normal, he felt a little lost. But he knew not to cause ay suspicions, at least not until their exams were over, repeating this in his mind, he let himself relax and smile, as he walked into the class.

“Naruto, did you know there was this amazing idea I had to prank Iruka sensei and it is completely going to work! I think-“ he tuned him off not paying attention to the words as a twelve-year-old Kiba chatted excitedly about his new idea, he didn’t know seeing him would cause such relief, his smile became more genuine and brighter as he watched him. “Oi, baka are you even listening” he heard his friend say but before he could answer with a similar insult a familiar chakra entered the classroom.

“Naruto, Kiba, back to your seats, you all are about to become genin and would do well to stop playing pranks now,” Iruka sensei’s warm voice said.

“Ha, like I would ever do anything that stupid ttebayo,” he said, his own voice happy and light as he made his way to his seat, hearing his sensei sigh behind him he could only grin wider. It was just so good to see him alive and well and safe.

It almost took Naruto effort not to look at Sasuke continuously, on the other hand, it didn’t make him have to pretend not paying attention in class. During the lunch break, he played with Choji, Kiba and Shikamaru, like he always had. He even insulted Sasuke for being all high and mighty to which the other scoffed at.

When the day was over he made way to his home, a little sad about being alone, he was so used to being around people whom he knew and trusted all the time that loneliness came back bitter than before. With a sigh he opened the door and set his bag down, walking to his bedroom only to find his best friend sitting on his bed.

“Sasuke!” he yelled in surprise, already holding a kunai in his hand ready to throw it anytime, “Teme are stupid or something? Giving me a heart attack just like that,” he said lowering his hand and plopping over on the bed.

“Hn” he heard his friend say intelligently before getting up and walking towards his kitchen, “Don’t you have anything in here except for ramen you loser,” he said shuffling through the cabinets.

“Why would I have anything else when I can eat ramen anytime I want,” he said back childishly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but took two cups of instant ramen and set up a pot of water on the stove. He was working in his kitchen so casually that Naruto felt stupid for thinking about loneliness when he wasn’t alone at all. Grinning happily he walked over and sat at the small dining table. “I’m happy that you’re here and everything but weren’t you the one who decided to stay the way others know us to be for the time being,” he said.

“I’m not an idiot, I left a clone at home and took appropriate measures before coming here, besides I didn't want to be alone, and we have things to talk about.” the raven replied setting the cups on the table and taking a seat. When he saw that the blonde was already distracted and was looking at the ramen as if it by staring at it would make it cook faster, Sasuke sighed again.

“I still have my Rinnegan,” he said finally and was a little content to look at the other's reaction of surprise.

“Huh? I can’t detect any henge right now” Naruto said, trying to look for one. 

“Before coming back, I placed the henge on my Rinnegan so that people could only see it if I wanted them too. But the problem is that the eye is taking up a large amount of chakra and I can barely maintain the one clone I made. I was thinking I should remove the eye, even if I’m confident in my henge I don’t know if the Hokage or worse Danzo will be able to look past it” Sasuke explained, lifting his hand to his left eye.

“But you can’t walk around with one eye, and what about your Sharingan? Is it there too?” naruto asked to which the other nodded and changed his eye so he could see the three tomoe’s spinning.

“I have the mangekyou too, using it will take too much chakra so I can’t activate it right now without my clone disappearing,” he said, “I was thinking if you could give me back my eye as you did to Kakashi when Madara stole his Sharingan” he added.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of that” Naruto said while bringing his hands down on the table excitedly.

“I didn’t know you could think at all dobe”

“Shut up teme!”

“Well, can you?” Sasuke asked smirking as he ate his noodles, he wouldn’t admit it but eating ramen after such a long time felt nice for him too.

“I haven’t tried slipping into the sage of six paths mode yet but I still have this so it should be okay,” he said pointing to the sun on his palm. Sasuke nodded and took a jar from his bag. it was filled with a clear looking liquid and it was obvious that it was meant for his eye.

“Where did you even get that” he mumbled distractedly which got him an eye roll and a ‘do you really want to know’ look.

He watched in half respect and half horror as Sasuke took his own eye out, the henge gone, and placed it inside the jar. He focused his chakra into the sun tattoo on his hand and placed it on the others eye, he felt even more of his chakra going towards his hand and felt a little dizzy as it finally stopped. When Sasuke opened his previously empty socket he saw familiar black orbs looking at him.

“Man the last time I did this we were in the middle of a battle and I barely felt anything and right now I am at full chakra and I feel as if I haven’t slept or eaten in days,” he complained as he opened another cup of instant ramen and filled it with water.

Sasuke himself felt a dozen times better now that his eye wasn’t sucking up chakra like a sponge with water. “It's a little amazing how you do that,” he said completely truthful.

“A little? there is nothing I do that isn’t completely amazing and awesome” came the reply and the both of them smiled, it was just so natural by this point.

“Well, that aside you need a secure place to store it and I believe I have just the thing for that” naruto said excitedly running to his room and returning with some ink and paper which Sasuke guessed was what he used for making seals. He quickly drew a rough sketch of what he was planning and presented it to the raven.

“This is a simple storage seal with some modifications I did when I was bored, I suggest you get it made on your ankle, you can store the jar inside it, and I’ve made it so it can only be opened when you apply your chakra in it as well as put in the unlocking formula, you won’t feel a thing, and neither will anyone else,” he explained happily, obviously proud of his work.

“I’m fine with it, can you make the seal right now, it's better to get it done with so we can move on to… our future plans,” Sasuke said.

“Don’t you want to know more about the seal, the size, the adva-“

“I trust you, if it was faulty you wouldn’t have suggested it” Sasuke cut in, sitting on the floor of his bedroom and putting his bare foot forward, ready for the brush.

Naruto was a little surprised at how those three words could still make him feel all warm inside. Nodding and bringing the necessary items for making the seal he sat in front of his friend and concentrated, making the seal as small as possible before transferring it on his ankle. It was perfect, a small black band around the ankle which wasn’t anything noticeable. he urged Sasuke to put his chakra in and they both were satisfied to see that it opened up and the jar fit inside it easily.

“Well, that’s done with at least,” he said lying down on the floor beside his friend who was looking at his ankle as if the jar would come back out anytime.

“Hn. what do you want to do after graduation?” Sasuke asked, leaning against the edge of the bed.

“I have a few plans for that, but before that, there is something we really need to do”

“What is it?” Sasuke was curious, he had some ideas of his own, but he didn’t have anything immediate.

“Before the war started, sakura and I visited Uzushiogakure, my mother's homeland, it was destroyed by Kiri a long time ago, we found some old scriptures and seals that really helped me, Kakashi sensei said it was my Uzumaki blood showing,” naruto said with a snort, sitting up at looking at his friends face.

“But there were very little scrolls left, my guess is that Orochimaru took everything when he was trying to break the grim reapers seal. There are some compartments that only open when they recognise Uzumaki blood, but he had Karin for that” he finished.

“So you think that since Orochimaru has had no reason to go there yet there might be a lot more,” Sasuke said to which he received an eager nod. “That's a good idea, we can leave clones behind as go as soon as possible” he added.

“And I was thinking we should stay here till the chunin exams, not the whole deal, but I really want to save Gaara” these words sent a pang of jealously through Sasuke, he knew the redhead was hopelessly in love with his best friend. But he nodded, he didn’t want to leave him behind as well.

“Also Neji, he once told me how Hinata's father used the caged bird seal on him when he was a child, and I don’t want him to stay in that place for long” Sasuke said quietly, Neji and he had become close during the war. Both of them believed to be trapped by fate until a blonde idiot punched those thoughts out of them, quite literally.

“Okay, we can talk about this later, let's focus on Uzushio and Mizuki first,” Naruto declared with a loud yawn, “Damn, this body is already sleepy, to think we were used to staying awake for over 24 hours,” he added lazily, climbing into bed. Wordlessly Sasuke climbed into the bed with him, the bed obviously being too small for two of them, but neither of them wanted to be alone, and a few sore limbs were a small price to pay for a good nights sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay safe and stay healthy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> more of a filler I guess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I upload this on the occasion of my birthday, I'm actually sixteen now wtf.  
> Anyway enjoy :)  
> updates will most likely be slow  
> and uh I fixed my issue with the caps lock so I'm using proper capitalization now.

The trip to Uzushio had been worth it, Naruto truly felt at home looking at the red sunsets and blue waters. The whole city was built like a spiral, high buildings, and ancient architecture. Sasuke had been in awe and Naruto remembered it was his first time visiting. The village was destroyed but still breathtaking. Some roads were filled with rubble and most houses were filled with rotting furniture. Both of them spent a day to gather all bodies, or remails of them, they could find and burnt them in a pyre with proper Uzumaki customs. 

They really did discover a treasure. Most valuable artifacts had been stolen, but the truly valuable things, their teachings, their scrolls, their history, everything was there. Sasuke had felt he was intruding, it wasn't his right to see and know all of it, but Naruto held his hand as they walked through the enormous underground tunnels, and these thoughts left his mind as soon as they came. 

By the end of their short but enlightening trip, they had storage seals worth of scrolls with them. Naruto had looked at the place, at the waters and the skies, his mother's home, and promised he would come back for it. And both of them knew Naruto never broke his promises. 

Coming back was fairly easy, their clones had done their jobs perfectly. Nothing was out of the ordinary. One night, Sasuke had poisoned Mizuki, while Naruto had found about the proof of his connection to Orochimaru and lay it out somewhere that any ninja would fight during an investigation. It had gone as they predicted, in the morning when he didn't come for the academy exams another teacher went to find him and found his body instead. 

Everyone found out about the traitor, they all thought that he must've betrayed Orochimaru, or wasn't useful anymore, and was hence killed in order to be silenced. Sasuke was a student of the said man, and had killed him using the snake poison which only Orochimaru and Anko had access to during this time. 

Sasuke had all but moved into Naruto's apartment, even though they stayed apart during school. Today was the day of the graduation exam and both of them woke up a bit excited since it was now they could start planning ahead. 

"Dobe, get out of the bathroom, I won't be late because of you" Sasuke grumbled from outside the door, having half a mind just to barge in. A minute later the door opened and Naruto walked out in a towel wrapped around his hips, and Sasuke wished he wasn't standing right there. His cheeks couldn't help but warm up, and he shook his head because Naruto was a _child_ , at least in flesh. He hurried inside and locked the door. Distantly he could hear him mutter "Rude people who are cranky in the morning."

Once both of them had showered and eaten, they made way for the exam hall. Sasuke had passed brilliantly as he did the last time and now it was Naruto's turn.

"Right, Naruto make three clones" This time Iruka sensei was alone during marking them as Mizuki had been dead already. 

Naruto couldn't do clones unless they were large in number, but he could make any number of shadow clones. 

"Iruka sensei, I can't make clones! But I can make these so I'll show you my new technique" He said with a bright grin and made the necessary seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" three shadow clones appeared next to him, all perfectly identical. He left like laughing a little at the surprise on his old sensei's face. He felt a little warm inside when it mixed with pride. 

"H-How did you do that? This is supposed to be a high ranked Jutsu" He exclaimed. 

"Sensei, I have to become strong enough to be a leader, obviously I can learn these jutsus!" He replied. He didn't say Hokage because it simply wasn't true anymore. Iruka was quiet for a moment before he gave Naruto his hitai-ate and ruffled his hair. "I'm proud of you, good work" hearing this made Naruto tear up even if he was actually an adult and he hugged his teacher and grinned before leaving for the next student to come in. 

Sasuke was waiting outside for him and both of them parted from the crowd and made way home. They didn't want to see other parents congratulating their children, or fawning over the last Uchiha, nor whispering about the demon brat passing. They simply celebrated with some tomato ramen and a spar. 

"Don't ya think we should've talked to Sakura a little? I mean, since she's gonna be our teammate and all that" Naruto said lying on the bed while Sasuke worked at a B- rank seal on the ground. He had already unlocked his Sharingan again and it had two tomoe as of now. He wanted to unlock all three stages before he used it so his eyes at least looked symmetrical. 

"I don't think I can hear her insult you or hit you without hitting her back" Sasuke mumbled distractedly. Naruto broke out into a small smile and jumped off the bed. "Aww, I always knew you cared" 

"Of course I do, and no matter what you say I'm not going to let her do that, she's going to have to actually train this time around" he said without missing a beat. Naruto sighed but didn't say anything. Sasuke and Sakura's relationship had been scarred ever since they tried killing each other. He knew he couldn't push him on this. 

After some more talking both of them fell asleep. 

\-----

" _Sorry Sasuke, this is the last time" his aniki's kind and gentle face was in front of him. Blood dripping from his mouth as he felt his breaths shorten. He reached out and poked his forehead one last time, before falling against the wall and eventually on the ground. Right at his feet. Below the Uchiha symbol that was plastered on the wall. Tears escaped Sasuke's eyes and all he could feel was pain. pain. pain. It was hard to breathe, his elder brother, he killed him. He didn't mean to-_

"Sasuke! Wake up, you're okay, I'm here, we're in Konoha, we have our genin inauguration today, you remember, yeah?" A kind voice spoke from above him and Sasuke could recognize that warm and bright chakra anywhere. He nodded and accepted the glass of water in front of him, drinking in small sips. "Thanks" he whispered and sat up straight. 

Naruto sat in front of him and looked into his eyes. "Your Sharingan" he said with a half-smile, which was sad and Sasuke looked in the mirror to see Eternal Mangekyou in both eyes. He changed it to see the regular Sharingan and sighed in relief when he saw three tomoe's spinning lazily in both eyes. 

"I dreamt of the day Itachi nii died" he explained briefly and Naruto nodded, that explained the Mangekyou. 

"C'mon, let's eat, I won't be able to fall asleep again either." The blonde got up and made way to the kitchen and Sasuke followed. 

\-----

Sasuke and Naruto were sitting at a table side by side as they waited for the teams to be called. 

"Ugh! Get away from me, forehead, I came here first and I will sit with Sasuke-kun" 

"Shut up Ino pig! I will sit with Sasuke-kun" 

Naruto laid his head on the desk to avoid the screeching and Sasuke sighed. 

"Actually I was here first" another girl spoke up and now everyone was fighting over who would sit next to the boy. 

"Hey! Naruto baka, get away from Sasuke-kun!" right on cue, Sakura came to push him off but this time Naruto didn't even lift his head and Sasuke grabbed her hand before she could touch him. 

"If you can't behave like a civilized person you shouldn't be here" he spoke lowly and the girl flinched back as if slapped. 

"B-but Sasuke-kun, he's jus-" 

"Leave" he said and that was it. 

The rest of the class looked a mix of shock and a bit of smugness from the other girls at Sakura being brushed off by their Sasuke-kun. 

Naruto only sat in attention when Iruka sensei entered the class, not sparing one glance at Sakura. She was confused and a bit embarrassed to be ignored by the boy who seemed to have a crush on her, well, he hadn't tried asking her out or talking to her in two weeks, what changed?

"Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto" there was no other reaction other than a small smile, "Haruno Sakura" the girl immediately withered in disappointment, "And Uchiha Sasuke" at this she perked up and celebrated while the other two were quiet. 

Their sensei continued with calling out the other teams and Naruto leaned back and closed his eyes, he had barely slept and felt really tired. One by one the other teams went along with their newly appointed teachers and somewhere in the background, Naruto heard Kiba say something along the lines of 'a loser team getting a loser sensei' as they too left and only team 7 were in the room. 

Naruto really wanted to do this again, so he got up and placed a duster in the middle of the door and the wall, giggling to himself as he came back and sat down. 

"Naruto baka! Do you want to get us in trouble even before we know our sensei's name or what?!" Sakura said angrily looking at Sasuke waiting for him to agree. 

"C'mon Sakura-chan! He deserves it for being late" Naruto pouted and Sasuke snorted. 

"Again?" He asked and the blonde shook his head

"I put some hair dye at the base of the duster, his hair should be red" he snickered and Sasuke raised an amused eyebrow. All this while Sakura felt as if she was the outsider, when Naruto should've been the extra to her and Sasuke's perfect team. All of this was somehow his fault. 

It was another hour before Kakashi entered. He deliberately let the duster fall on his head as he walked in. He didn't expect all the three to burst out laughing, he did expect this from Naruto, and maybe even the civilian girl, but not the revenge-driven Uchiha for sure. Were the academy reports correct? Well, he knew from his own experience that the reports were often influenced by their personal prejudices. Still, it was just a duster. 

"Maa, my first impression of you, you're all weird" He said dismissively. 

Sasuke and Naruto both looked at each other for a moment and smiled in an almost secretive way. As well as Kakashi knew they used to be rivals? Not friends? Not... whatever they were looking to be. "Meet me on the roof in five minutes" he says before using the shushin to appear there.

Sakura was hurrying towards the stairs before it was almost impossible to reach the roof in the allotted time. "Ne, Sakura-chan, slow down" Naruto said as he stood up and stretched lazily. 

"Baka, sensei told us to be there within five minutes, right Sasuke-kun?" She asked, even though she was realizing that Sasuke seemed to agree with the blonde more often than not. '

"Actually, I need to go to the bathroom, you guys can go ahead if you want" He said and Sakura almost wanted to say that they'd be late for sure but she kept quiet. "Teme, of course, we'll wait for you, we're a team now" Naruto said with a snort, both of them knew Sasuke didn't actually want to go to the toilet. 

"Yeah Sasuke-kun, be quick" Sakura said with a smile and he nodded at her before moving. 

They waited in silence for a few minutes when Sasuke finally returned. "Thanks, let's go" he said standing at the door and they both followed him at a leisurely pace as they took their time to reach the roof. Kakashi was leaning against a pole as he watched them unimpressed. "You guys took fifteen minutes to reach" It was a statement but felt more like a question. 

"Well, sorry for wasting _so much_ time, we could've been really productive in those extra ten minutes ne? Sensei" Naruto said in such a painfully sarcastic way that both Sasuke and Sakura snorted. "But since we know you like to punctual now we'll try to always be on time" 

Kakashi looked at his sensei's son in astonishment and a little bit of guilt. That was such a Kushina thing to say. Even though he didn't appreciate being called out on being several hours late. 

"Ma, Naruto, I was simply helping an old lady with her baggage, no need to be so petty" he drawled out and felt just a tiny bit flustered when not even one of them reacted to it, "Anyway, introduce yourselves, likes, hobbies, dreams, etc" 

"Why don't you go first sensei? To show us how it's done" Sakura said, just like last time. 

"Hmm, my name is Kakashi, I have a lot of likes and dislikes... my hobbies... and no such dreams" he answered, and again, only the civilian girl looked annoyed. _What the hell._ Annoying people was Kakashi's main source of joy, these two looked at him as if he was the freshly made dumb genin.

"All we got out of that was his name" Sakura mumbled in frustration. 

"Right, blondie, you first" he said pointing at Naruto.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen, my friends, and seals, I dislike people who can't follow their own schedule" he looked at Kakashi with a pointed look at that "and as for dreams I just wanna live happily" 

Now, Kakashi was confused, didn't this kid go around saying he'd become the Hokage? "Seals?" he asked tilting his head. 

"It's my clan's legacy" he replied curtly, not elaborating. Kakashi stiffened, he wasn't supposed to know about this yet, did he figure it out himself? 

"You don't have a clan baka! What are you saying" Sakura moved to hit his head but was stopped by Sasuke. 

"He does actually, the Uzumaki was the largest clan of Uzushio, but it was destroyed by enemies a long time ago" the raven replied calmly, lowering her hand. "And stop trying to hit him, next time I'll hit you back" 

"Sasuke!" 

Sakura started tearing up, what was happening? What did Naruto do to Sasuke? 

Kakashi himself was very surprised, both at the boy's knowledge of Uzushio and defense of Naruto, he looked serious too. 

"Ah, um, pinkie you next" 

"My name is Haruno Sakura, I like" she looked at Sasuke for a second before shaking her head, "I dislike Naruto!" again she looked at Sasuke to see his expression, but he wasn't even looking at her or seemed to hear her, "and my dream is to... be a kunoichi I guess" she finished quietly. 

"...Right, Sasuke, you next" 

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I like tomatoes, I dislike fangirls and people who drag me down, my hobbies are training, and... cooking, my dream is to follow my own path without anyone's manipulation." Naruto rubbed his back discreetly. 

"That's nice, you guys are an interesting bunch, well, we'll do a survival exercise tomorrow, meet me at ground thirty at six " 

"What?" Naruto asked dutifully, except with the fuss he threw last time. 

"Ma, you see, out of academy graduates, only thirty-three percent make the cut, the rest go back to practice more for another year" Kakashi was waiting for the horror or frustration to come over there faces but Sasuke and Naruto nodded as if it made perfect sense. Only the kunoichi looked horrified. Again, _what the hell_. He was getting really irritated now. 

"The bell test" Sasuke said looking at his teammates, and all Kakashi wanted to do was to go and smash that face into the ground, but he settled for a smile instead. 

"How would you know about that?" He asked sweetly.

"From one of the teams you've failed, I thought asking reviews for out future sensei" Sasuke said with a shrug and Sakura looked impressed with him, while Naruto looked like he was going to fall asleep. 

"But Sasuke-kun, how would you know I will be assigned your sensei" He asked, let's see if he had an answer to that. But to his irritation, the other boy only snorted. "I don't see anyone else with a Sharingan in the village, I'm not an idiot" 

And Kakashi would like to agree because that was a very good connection to make. "Well, see you guys tomorrow, and oh, try not to eat any breakfast, you'll just end up puking" and with that, he shushined away, already annoyed at the thought of tomorrow.

"C'mon dobe, let's go home, you look ready to pass out" Sasuke said fondly and Naruto seemed to finally pay attention. He nodded and both of them began walking. Sakura only watched in shock because _home??_ Did they live together? Of course, their behavior made sense now. How would she fit in between them? 

"Oh Sakura-chan, eat something before coming, it's better to have something light than sit hungry through the exam" Naruto called out from the road and Sasuke nodded in affirmative.

Sakura hesitantly nodded back before she made her own way home. And oh my god, she was on the same team as Sasuke-kun!!

\----- 

Kakashi made the way straight to the Hokage's office, jumping in through the window. The Hokage looked especially shocked to see him, _what was wrong with people today,_ he shook his head and spoke. "You didn't tell me Naruto and Sasuke were best friends" 

The Hokage's eyes widened so Kakashi assumed he didn't know either. "And Naruto knows about his clan, and Uzushio too, from what I could make out, he is good at sealing" He added casually and took great pleasure in seeing the Hokage become even more shocked. 

When he didn't get any response he shrugged and was about to leave when the old man finally spoke up, "Kakashi, are you trying a new hair colour?" 

Kakashi frowned and looked at the mirror on the wall to see his hair was bright red. So that's why they were laughing. 

_The little monsters._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave comments if you want.  
> follow my ig @/_itachisupremacy for naruto edits <3  
> stay safe guys!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genin exams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i say slow updates? well, they probably will be slow since I have exams soon but its not like i actually study.

The next morning Sakura arrived at the meeting spot right at six am. She bought an extra bento for Sasuke so that they could eat it together after the test. She had taken their advice and eaten some fruit in the morning. She didn't want to break rules but since it was a suggestion instead of an order, she didn't fret much over it. Now, she was just waiting for her teammates and sensei to arrive. She didn't like how Sasuke and Naruto were already so close, if they were to be a team she had to fit in as well. 

It was half an hour later when Sasuke and Naruto arrived at the training ground. They made over to where their teammate was already waiting for them. 

"Good morning Sasuke-kun" Sasuke spoke when they were near and waved at him. Sasuke sighed, he didn't want to deal with this all over again. 

"Sakura-chan! Good morning, did you eat something before coming?" Naruto asked enthusiastically and she nodded in affirmative. Good, at least they didn't have to worry about being hungry. 

"Listen now, the bell test is supposed to pit teammates against each other, but to pass we need to work together, Naruto and I came up with an idea that would help us pass it and we need you not to drag us down" Sasuke started speaking but was interrupted when the blonde smacked him on the back of his head for being rude. 

"What he means is we all need to work together!" 

But Sakura had heard, and was hurt, along with shocked, what do they mean _her dragging them down._ She was the top kunoichi in their batch and Sasuke was the first in class. The one dragging them down was going to be Naruto-baka for sure. She was about to speak her thoughts but Sasuke continued. 

"What we need is to get the bells from him, I have one bell with me, I bought it from a store some time back, but this is for later, so don't worry about it. When we start Naruto will use shadow clones to attack him from everywhere, it won't be difficult for Kakashi to counter them at all, Sakura, right at that time I need you to send a flurry of weapons at him, all aiming for vital spots, don't worry about him, he's a Jonin, we need you to be perfect in your timing okay?" He stopped to hear her response. 

"Yeah, I can set them up" Sakura nodded, she would have to pull this off to pass and so she could show Sasuke-kun she was worthy of him. He nodded back before continuing. 

"While he is dodging them I will put him under a genjustu, it will last only for a few seconds because he was a Sharingan as well, during that time Naruto will put a body binding seal on him and we will get the bells. All clear?" He finished and both of them nodded. 

Naruto watched as Sasuke unconsciously slipped into his Anbu commander tone. It was almost refreshing to see him planning and giving orders like he and Shikamaru did before they came to the past. Sasuke and he had agreed that while they needed to downplay their skills they couldn't hide them completely or it would cause suspicion when they acted on reflexes in serious situations. 

"Sasuke-kun, I know we can pull this off but Naruto won't be able to put a seal on sensei, you can't trust him with such an important thing!" And Sasuke watched as Naruto's smile dimmed just a little. He knew that while the blonde knew how strong he was now, during their childhood he had been insecure about himself and covered it up with smiles and cheer. He never wanted to see Naruto looking sad or unsure of himself ever in his life, it made a part of his heart break. He was about to tell Sakura to shut it when Naruto held his arm. 

"Sakura, being book smart means nothing on the field, and Naruto is an Uzumaki, I don't think there is anyone in Konoha who can make seals better than him. Please focus on your own role" He said instead. 

"Well, wake me up when Kaka-sensei arrives because I'm going to sleep" Naruto spoke while setting his backpack down against the wall and lying down. Sakura looked at him and wondered, is this what she was going to have to deal with? Counting on Sasuke-kuns's support for anything against Naruto was as good as useless, she will just have to get him to see her as a member of the team.

She watched as Sasuke climbed up the tree and seemed to look for something, he spent a few minutes there, and by the time he came back Naruto was already sleeping and his head was almost touching the ground. Sasuke sighed and sat down beside him, lifting his head and setting it on his lap. Watching that made Sakura think if he would have done the same if it was her instead of Naruto, she didn't really like her conclusions. Checking the time she saw it was already seven am but there was still no sign of their sensei. She decided to sit down. 

Within a few minutes, Sasuke was asleep as well, neither he nor Naruto could sleep much at night, either their dreams were plagued with nightmares or they just spent time talking about random things and the years they spent apart. It was easier for them to sleep during the day, especially for Naruto who was still unnerved by the moon. 

By the time Kakashi arrived at the training group, there were three sleeping baby genin there. Hm, maybe he kept them waiting long enough. 

As soon as someone landed on the ground before him, Sasuke woke up. Years on staying on guard had made it impossible to sleep in such situations, outwardly, he slowly opened his eyes and tried to seem as unaware as possible before sitting up straight looking at Kakashi. How Naruto was still sleeping was beyond him, but he had learned not to question certain things when the said man was concerned. 

"What time is it?" As far as he remembered, last time they waited a few hours before the gray-haired man arrived. 

"Ma, its ten am already Sasuke-kun" 

By now, Sakura was awake and she was looking at the jonin standing in front of her while her thoughts caught up to her brain, oh right, the test!

Sasuke woke up Naruto by shaking his shoulders and the blonde too snapped into focus. 

"Well, since everyone seems to be awake right now we can finally begin our test" He said cheerily, even if they knew about the bell test they couldn't know about its true motive so he wasn't going to bother with something else, plus the bell test was team tradition.

"Stop saying that as if it's our fault we were delayed, _someone_ decided to arrive hours later to the allotted time and it wasn't us" Naruto spoke up pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi.

"Well, let's not waste any more time and start with the test" He held up two bells identical to the one Sasuke had shown them earlier. "The objective is simple, you have to get this bell from me before noon, whoever gets the bell passes, if you don't get it, you won't get any lunch" He watched them and their reactions one by one as they heard him explain. None of the three were hearing anything particularly new as 

Sasuke had already filled Sakura in. 

Kakashi smiled and added, "Whoever gets the bell will pass" 

Sakura was about to protest when she remembered Sasuke had warned them about this already and nodded instead. 

Kakashi was getting really annoyed with the lack of reactions, well, just another day and he would be done with them. It was likely that the council will push him to pass them but he wasn't about to give in. Might as well get it over with. 

"Uhm, you can use any methods to attack, come with the intent to kill or you won't get anywhere." He gave a pause "Start" He said and took out his little orange book from his weapon pouch as he started reading. Sasuke and Sakura had hidden in the trees as soon as he finished speaking while Naruto stood right in front of Kakashi. 

At least the other two knew to hide their locations. 

"Alright! I'm getting those bells now" Naruto exclaimed with enthusiasm as he made hand seals, "Kage bunshin no Jutsu" a dozen or so clones popped up and engaged him in a fight. Kakashi started dispelling them with ease, not yet looking up from his book when Sasuke gave Sakura the signal. She cut the rope holding the weapons and they flew towards the jonin. This made him look up as he dodged them while still fighting off the clones. Just as the last kunai fell he looked up to see who the attack had come from only to look into Sasuke's fully developed Sharingan. He was only allowed a moment of surprise before he was trapped in a genjutsu. Not wasting a moment, Naruto took a piece of paper from his pouch and aimed it at his back "Body Binding Seal" 

They watched as the man went completely still, he was still trapped in the false world as well. Both Sasuke and Sakura dropped down on the ground as Naruto took the two bells from him. He gave one to Sakura while Sasuke took out his own. 

So that's why he already had one bell, Sakura thought and sighed dreamily at the thought of the Uchiha being so smart. 

"Teme, you overdid with the genjutsu" Naruto glared at Sasuke while the other only looked away with a smirk. He finished tying up their sensei on the stump where he had been tied last time, payback is a bitch. 

Sasuke and Naruto sat down near their now tied up teacher and pulled out their lunches, Sakura looked at them in equal parts of confusion and hesitance. Finally, she shook her head and took out her own bento, and all of them ate in silence, which was a little weird since they were supposed to be giving a test. 

Kakashi was fighting the genin as they made fruitless attempts to get the bells from him. He only realized something was wrong when he was unable to read further in the chapter he was on. Hm? His eyes widened as he realized what was wrong and bought his fingers up and whispered 'kai'. He had to try it a few more times before he was able to break out of the genjutsu. What the fuck. He quickly figured he was tied to a pole, when he tried to free himself he found that he couldn't move at all. Again, _what the fuck._ Looking up he saw his students were eating lunch. 

"Oh, you're with us again!" Naruto yelled as he saw him look around. 

"What happened?" He asked, trying to keep away the humiliation of being defeated by a couple of not-yet-genin. 

"We made a plan to get the bells and you fell for it, it was a little too easy actually" Sasuke added the last part as an afterthought. Both the others snorted. Kakashi swore he was going to kill the Uchiha brat as soon as he could move. He didn't want to ask them why was it he couldn't move but the little remainder of his pride stopped him. Those little shits didn't even seem to notice as they continued eating. It was only Sakura who seemed to get it. 

"Um Naruto, the seal?" she said apprehensively and the blonde seemed to realize he was missing something. He got up and quickly worked on breaking the seal. Kakashi was panicking over the fact that he now had three students whom he already hated. Once Naruto was done he stepped back and let Kakashi free himself. 

Kakashi sighed deeply before turning to the three who looked at him with various expressions, Naruto and Sakura looked hopeful while the raven looked as if he was mocking him. 

"So, which one of you have the bells, the other goes back to the academy" this was completely not true, they had all passed but he just wanted to be petty. This quickly turned on him as well when all three pulled out one bell each from their pockets. He blinked once, What. 

"How.."

"A ninja must never reveal their tricks" Sasuke said with a smile that was more sadistic than anything. Kakashi considered punching him in the face but smiled instead. "I didn't know you had your Sharingan already" the fully-developed part was left unsaid. 

"I don't need to inform anyone about my eyes, not you for sure" 

And that was true, but the Hokage and the council will soon know anyway, he wished he could just do away with the so-called advisors anyway. 

"And Naruto, what seal was that?" 

"I made it myself, its a body binding seal" the blonde answered casually and Kakashi would have laughed if it wasn't actually used on him moments prior. He had also never heard of such a seal before. But still, no matter the son of the two strongest seal masters of Konoha, he couldn't start developing seals at twelve, right? He shook off his thoughts and decided to drop it. 

"You can't mess around with seals, it could be incredibly dangerous to yourself and others, do you get it?" 

"Hai, sensei" It didn't sound sincere at all. 

"So did we pass?" The pink-haired girl anxiously, she wasn't sure of what was going on but she knew they completed the objective and should hence pass. 

"Yes, team seven will report for their first mission tomorrow at six am" he sighed "You are dismissed for today" 

"Yahoo!" both Naruto and Sakura exclaimed white Sasuke just gave a small smile. 

Kakashi very unhappily made way over to the Hokage's office. 

\------ 

"Team 5" 

"Fail" 

"Team 8" 

"Pass" 

"Team 7" 

"Pass" Kakashi said not bothering to look up from his Icha-Icha. The other jonin and Hokage started at him in barely concealed surprise and he raised an unamused eyebrow at them. 

"Um. Team 9" 

"Fail" 

"Team 10"

"Pass" 

Once the report was over the other jonin left the room one by one till only 

Kakashi remained. 

"What the hell Hokage sama, are the academy reports even a fraction of truth, today during the test all three of them worked together to get the bells, Sasuke Uchiha put me under a genjutsu using his Sharingan" At this, the Hokage raised his eyebrows "And Uzumaki Naruto put a seal on me that completely stopped my movements, apparently one had he has made himself" at this the pipe fell out of his mouth and he stared at him in shock. 

"He..... invented a seal" At Kakashi's sharp nod he sighed, "I guess it's in his blood after all."

"Are both of them.. alright?" He asked with a look and Kakashi felt some anger rising within him, he was asking if they were both stable, no matter who, the Sharingan, and the Jinchuriki were only a tool for Konoha at the end, to be used if useful and eliminated if dangerous. He crushed his thoughts and nodded. The Hokage nodded satisfied and dismissed the Hatake. 

\-----

Once Kakashi left and Sasuke and Naruto started going home, Sakura held his arm to stop him. "Sasuke-kun, how about we go out for some snacks?" she asked with a giggle. Instead of ignoring her pitiful attempts at flirting like he had done before he shook off his arm from her hold and turned to look at her. 

"Listen, Sakura, while you are a member of this team and we are teammates, I have no further interest in you and will never have it either, so please behave decently and professionally or I'll file a complaint to move teams" No he won't, he didn't know if these things were possible but he wouldn't accept stupid fangirling. For once, even Naruto was quiet as he watched the exchange. 

He ignored the tears forming in the kunoichi's eyes and turned away to resume walking. Naruto hesitantly joined him and they made home. 

Sakura ran home crying, she thought that if she managed to get on the same team as him, they would eventually fall in love and get married one day. She maintained top scores because she knew the placement of teams. What's the point of it all now? 

Her parents were surprised to find her in tears and asked her what happened but she just informed them they passed and went into her room, locking the door. 

Both of them were equally confused so they just looked at each other and shrugged. 

\------

"That was a bit harsh" Naruto said leaning against the counter as Sasuke cooked dinner. He raised a single eyebrow in question and Naruto scoffed. "You know what I'm talking about, with Sakura earlier" 

"It needed to be done sooner or later, she needs to break out of her delusions and accept reality, besides it would be harsher if she still believed there was a chance once we left" he said without missing a beat. 

"I guess.. so, not running off without me this time around?" Naruto asked in a tone clearly meant to be a joke, his eyes showed nothing but amusement, but Sasuke still felt a prick of guilt in his stomach. 

"Never, I don't think I could go on a single day without you at this point" His cheeks flushed as soon as he finished saying it, but he wasn't about to take it back. It wasn't as if it wasn't true, he just hadn't meant to word it quite this way.

Seeking a glance at Naruto he saw the other's cheeks were equally red and he felt a bubble of satisfaction inside him. "I-um, I don't think I could either... so... ah, Itachi, right. How are we going to lure out Itachi?" Naruto stammered and settled on a topic. 

"I...I don't really know, from what we know last time he came to grab you while you were out finding Tsunade and because the Sandaime had died, we are going to stop Orochimaru's plans before that so I don't know how exactly, and we can't really go to Ame right now" 

Naruto nodded and both of them stood in silence for some time. "Let's go and find Tsunade that time anyway, he might still come. And you're going to be the bait. He cares about you more than anything so ill come up with something he can't ignore." he said thoughtfully and Sasuke looked at him impressed. 

"Stop thinking so much dobe, you're brain is going to fry before our first mission" 

"Shut up teme!" He retorted but it had no bite. 

"So, the next part is the chunin exams" Sasuke said as he served the curry and rice into two plates. 

Naruto was quiet for a moment, appreciating his teammate who was moving around in his kitchen looking like he _belonged_. It made his chest fluttery and he sighed. 

Yeah, he could really get used to this. 

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked the blonde who was lost in his head. 

"Hmm? Oh yeah, Chunin exams, right" he replied intelligently and Sasuke rolled his eyes. 

"No wait, we have the waves mission before that, and this time neither Haku nor Zabuza are dying" The blonde spoke with such conviction, daring the other to contradict. Sasuke looked at him, maintaining his gaze for a moment before he sighed and nodded, what else could he say, _no_? He'd learnt to accept Naruto's saviour complex and the surprising success rate of talk-no-jutsu long ago. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- so sakura gotta accept that sasuke is deeply in love with naruto and she's got no chance  
> \- kakashi wants to kill the three brats.  
> \- the hokage learned about naruto's talent with seals and is worried for the village now. especially the hokage faces.  
> \- future plans and treason against the village is discussed. 
> 
> follow my ig @/_itachisupremacy if you want. 
> 
> Stay safe and leave comments n kudos !!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the wave arc :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT
> 
> I have updated the edited version of the first two chapters so please read them before this. They really were a mess lol

Kakashi made them do a lot of D-rank missions, definitely more than the amount they did last time. By the end of each day, Sasuke was cranky and annoyed, only Naruto's amused laughter could cheer him up. Since he had told Sakura about his feelings, she was putting more time into focussing on their tasks than on him. She was convinced that if she became strong Sasuke would finally acknowledge her. As he remembered, Kakashi did not really teach them anything useful and focused on his books instead. 

That made him really annoyed because this Kakashi was still dismissive of their team. (No wonder they fell apart so easily last time). He and Naruto had taken to sparring and practising during the time they waited for their sensei to come. They even roped Sakura into their exercises, her chakra control was as good as it had been, she learned tree and water walking with ease. 

Then one day he told Kakashi he wanted to be a medic. All three members of their team stared at him in surprise. Naruto had never heard him mention _ that _ before.

"Really? I didn't know you were interested in medical ninjutsu" Kakashi said when he bought it up. And he wasn't, he just had time to learn a new thing and his chakra control was good enough to be able to heal non-life-threatening injuries. 

"I have lost enough people by not being able to do anything" he said shrugging, it was a good reason. And he really wanted to piss off the council in whatever ways he could. 

Kakashi looked like he wanted to protest, of course, he did, he was an Uchiha, expected to be on the front lines during wars, his Sharingan being an important weapon for Konoha. But he couldn't exactly say that, so he just nodded and told him he could him get an apprenticeship with one of his acquaintances in the hospital. 

Sasuke gave a small smile at that, Kakashi thought it was mocking him about having to deliver this development to the Hokage. As if he already knew about it. 

He really was done with the Uchiha. 

Later that day, when they were going to bed, Naruto asked him what was up with the new interest. 

"I already know my jutsus and am good at taijutsu, as well as with a sword, I just need to bring this young body back into shape to be able to use all that. I thought it's better to actually use this time to learn something new." he said and yawned right after. 

"That's cool I guess, I'd try something new too, but I already have my hands full with all these seals." 

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly. He was examining a seal Naruto had been working on for  _ weeks _ . He traced it with his Sharingan, remembering every stroke and brush. He still couldn't figure it out. 

"What is this for?" he asked, not for the first time. 

"Can't tell you yet, it's incomplete, It's for you though, well, not just you, it's really amazing." 

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that, because while Naruto knew he was great at seals, his voice was full of excitement as he talked about this one, and Sasuke just  _ had to know.  _ But it was clear he wasn't getting any answers now, so he dropped it. 

\----

As expected, Naruto whined and got them their first C-rank mission within weeks. Sasuke scoffed when the old bridge builder walked in and started insulting their team. 

Naruto was more nostalgic than anything, his smile not slipping off the whole time they were being briefed. 

"Right. Report at the village gates tomorrow at 8am, don't be late" Kakashi informed them before he shushin'd away. 

He was confused and annoyed. From what he knew, Sasuke Uchiha had been a quiet and distanced boy throughout the academy, he didn't care for anything and threw himself into training. But here he was, interacting with his teammates, no trace of revenge on his mind. He seemed to follow his sensei's son wherever he went, didn't show any signs of insulting him or thinking himself to be superior. 

Naruto Uzumaki was the dead last of the class, he was loud and hyperactive, caused trouble with his ever creative pranks and yelled about being the Hokage. He was also seen with a smile all the time despite the village's treatment of him. But again, he barely pranked anyone now, Kakashi hadn't heard him say even once he wanted to Hokage. And while most of the time he was all bright and sunshine, he could notice that sometimes his smile dimmed when angry civilians sent hateful glares and words his way. 

He wanted to snap at them, tell them that his student was the son of the very hero they all had loved and admired. But he couldn't do anything, because after all, he to was a shinobi, and couldn't disobey his orders. He never had to intervene, Sasuke was always there to hold his hand and distract him from the others. Neither of them knew about the Kyuubi, they didn't know why everyone hated Naruto, and sometimes all he wanted to do was to break the law and tell them everything. But he couldn't, the Hokage promised Naruto would be informed about it when he was a Chunin. He just hoped he wouldn't resent the village when he did. He wouldn't blame him if he did, but the council and others wouldn't stand for the jinchuriki not being completely loyal. 

Then there was the third member of the team, Haruno Sakura, top kunoichi of their batch, smart and knowledgable but no field presence. She was more worried about her hair and dress than she was about being a ninja, and she was a complete fangirl and supposedly in love with Sasuke. At least this one had originally fit the category of what was described to him, but only after a few days of being on the team, her behaviour changed as well. She wore standard shinobi wear that didn't disrupt her movements, and had taken to wearing her hair in a bun. She also concentrated more on training and their missions, but he could still see her hero worship for the Uchiha. 

Well, at least they had an excellent mission completion rate. Maybe he should start getting them trained in basic chakra control after the wave mission. For now, he had to report to the Hokage about the developments of their team. 

\----

"What do you mean the boy wants to be a medic?" Koharu asked as he finished explaining how the team was coming to be. Great, it was today the council had to be present there. 

"It would seem that the traumatic experience of his family has left him feeling helpless, so he wants to take up medical ninjutsu." he replied stiffly, not really comfortable with sharing his student's personal choices with them.

They couldn't just force him to abandon his interests, but from their looks, they very much wanted to.

"You should tell him about all the other options he has, maybe once he gets his dojutsu he will change his mind" the Sandaime said, his chin resting on his hands. 

"Ah, he already awakened his Sharingan before joining the team." 

This earned him four surprised looks, even Danzo seemed interested now. 

"Oh, did he tell you how he got it? And have you been training him with it?" The Hokage asked. 

"No, he refuses to mention it, and he doesn't seem to be keen on using his Sharingan. Every time I bring it up, he says he doesn't want to learn anything about it from me." and it was true, to be fair, Kakashi hadn't been very enthusiastic in offering him help with it, every time he did, he was shot down and the Uchiha said he wasn't intending to learn from him. 

"The Sharingan is a powerful weapon, the boy will eventually have to use it, he'll ask for assistance when he needs it." The Hokage said with a tone of finality. Kakashi nodded, relieved, he felt he was somehow betraying his students when he talked about them without their knowledge. 

They asked him some more things about their missions and growth before dismissing him. He bowed and left.

Kakashi hated the elder council, Danzo wasn't even a part of it anymore, for some reason he had been relieved of his position by the Hokage four years ago. Yet he was still present and got to listen to everything about the genin. He wished the Sandaime would see sense and look past his friendship to see what the other was up to before it was too late. (It had already been too late when he tried having him assassinated.)

\--- 

Sakura walked happily to their meeting point the next morning. The mission will take more than two weeks, which meant two weeks alone with her team, with Sasuke-kun. She bought food for the journey and extra clothes for herself. Naruto and Sasuke had agreed to bring tents for the night and medical supplies. She was still jealous that both of them were already so close, like a real team. They started including her during their morning practices and taught her new things, but it always felt she was a replaceable piece amongst their strong bond. Hopefully, with this mission that will change. 

When she reached both her teammates along with Tazuna-san were already there. 

"Good morning" she greeted when she reached them and Naruto waved at her with a big smile. Sasuke nodded at in greeting, Sakura pouted at the lack of enthusiasm, well, at least he didn't ignore her anymore. 

"Tazuna-san, from what I know the wave country is tense these days, is something wrong there?" Sasuke asked and watched as the old man became stiff, before he could probe further Kakashi shushin'd to their meeting spot with an annoying smile and wave. 

"Wha... You're on time?!!" Sakura cried out pointing a finger at him accusingly. 

"WHO ARE YOU? WHERE IS KAKA-SENSEI!?" Naruto yelled joining in. 

Sasuke himself was a bit surprised, since when did Kakashi follow the timings he set. 

"Ma, ma, my cute little genin, time is precious to a shinobi, let's not waste any and set for our trip." he said and started walking outside the gate, Tazuna hesitantly following him. Sasuke didn't have the energy to call him out on his pointed lateness to every meeting so he just sighed. Both Naruto and Sakura were staring at him suspiciously and kept asking him what made him actually appear on time but Kakashi remained stubbornly silent. 

As soon as they reached the wave country both Naruto and Sasuke were on alert. They walked through the forest and spotted the puddle of water but remained silent. This didn't go unnoticed by Kakashi. He noticed both his students paying attention to the puddle but all of them remained quiet and simply moved closer to their client, ready to attack. 

Soon enough the two Kiri chunin appeared and 'killed' Kakashi, Sakura screamed but stood in front of her client without wavering. Sasuke and Naruto both attacked one shinobi each and had them tied up in minutes. Neither of them wanted to kill without a genuine reason.

Kakashi was impressed, he didn't expect them to lose, but he expected injuries. Both his students moved like their movements were well practised but their bodies were still awkward in adjusting. 

"Good job protecting the client, Sakura. Naruto, Sasuke, you did well to tie them up" 

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" Both Sakura and Tazuna screamed looking relieved. 

"Ma, of course, have a little more faith in your sensei kids." he says airily, before taking a serious tone, "Now, Tazuna-san, when we came to this mission we expected bandits and such, these two are chunin from Kirigakure, why would they be attacking a bridge builder? My team is not advanced enough to take up such threats" 

"I-I don't know what you mean! Why would I know why they appeared?" Tazuna stutters, Sasuke rolls his eyes, this man was as subtle as a huge rock in an open field.

"In that case, we should return to Konoha and you can put in a B-rank mission request" 

After pushing a little bit, he finally told the story regarding Gato and the bridge. Naruto didn't even have to fake being sympathetic because he truly felt sorry for the village. When all three of them agreed to continue the mission, Kakashi accepted and they resumed their journey. 

Zabuza engaged Kakashi in a fight while the three genins focused on protecting their client. Sasuke and Naruto worked quicker to free Kakashi from the water prison and he used his Sharingan in the fight, defeating Zabuza. Haku came disguised as a hunter nin and took his supposedly dead body away, but this time Kakashi wasn't tired enough to pass out. They made their way to Tazuna's house and took some well-deserved rest. 

It was only a matter of time before Sasuke and Naruto would have to leave their teammates behind. It hurt, even though Sasuke wouldn't admit it to himself or anyone else. But it would be beneficial for all of them, and knowing Naruto he would always come back for his teammates, be it after a very long time. 

\----

There was no need for learning tree walking this time. They enjoyed the shocked looks from Kakashi when they informed him all three of them could already walk on trees and water. 

Kakashi instead gave them each a scroll containing all necessary instructions for a D-rank jutsu that they could do regardless of their elemental affinities. It was meant for stealth and infiltration, helping them blend with the colours around them. 

In Sasuke's opinion, Naruto's 'invisibility' seal was a hundred times handier, but since he couldn't make it himself, he decided another jutsu would never hurt. Beggars can't be choosers and all that.

It was fairly easy and by evening all three of them could do it. Naruto and Sasuke could easily do it after a few minutes, but then, that would be suspicious, maybe not from Sasuke, but certainly from Naruto, who had shit chakra control in his early years. 

The next morning, when Naruto had originally encountered Haku, both Sasuke and Naruto made way for the clearing they found him in. 

As predicted, he was picking herbs when they found him. 

"Haku" Naruto greeted and he turned to them, kunai in hand already, Sasuke looked heavenward praying that his blonde idiot would develop at least some sort of survival instincts. 

"We're not here to fight" he added before the Kiri nin could speak.

"I know you don't really want to do this, you can see the condition of the village, Gato is responsible for that" Naruto spoke, reaching forward slowly. 

"I am a shinobi, we do what we have to for the sake of survival," he said, looking ready to attack.

"Yes. I know that, but Gato isn't even planning to pay you! He would-" Sasuke stopped him before he could go on saying things he shouldn't know. 

"We heard it from the people. He always kills Ninja he employes once their job is done, it is in your better favour to kill him and take his money. We could have already called for backup from Konoha, there is no chance of you winning" Sasuke says calmly, and watches as the other hesitates. 

"That is not up to me to decide, Zabuza-sama makes the decision." 

"Because this is more than just money isn't it? With Gato's connections, you have safety from Kirigakura as well" realisation dawns on Sasuke, from the look in Haku's eyes, he is not wrong at all. 

"Then you can come to Uzushio!" Naruto butt in, "No one will ever look for you there, and well, the place is completely in ruins right now, but Sasuke and I are gonna rebuild it! You could live there without worrying about Kirigakure." 

"It's not that easy... you don't understand, you have a loving village behind you..."

"We do understand. I am the last of my clan, Uchiha clan, you must've heard. And Naruto is an orphan, he never had anyone to fall back upon, Konoha isn't all sunshine and everything good." Sasuke isn't stupid enough to mention the Jinchuriki factor, even if they are on somewhat better terms, he isn't going to tell him something they themselves aren't supposed to know about. 

"Why.. why would you help us? If you really are ready with reinforcements then why not just get it over with?" there's something like desperation and hope on the other's face and Naruto's own expression softens. 

"I had a friend in the Yuki clan," Naruto ignores the surprise on the others face, "If I have a chance to save one of their last, then I'd take it. " he gives a hesitant smile. 

"Also, if we are going to rebuild the village," Sasuke looks pointedly at Naruto as he says this, (who just scratches the back of his neck sheepishly) because this is something they didn't really talk on yet, "It would be beneficial for us to have allies with bloodlines, as well as one of the seven swordsmen."

"I understand. I will talk about what you said with Zabuza-sama, he will decide what to do," Haku says, maintaining composure even though both of them can see how hard he has to try to keep it.

"Here," Naruto says, stepping forward and handing the other boy a three-pronged kunai, "If you apply chakra to it I will be able to find you immediately, don't hesitate to use it if things are really bad, hopefully, we'll see you in Uzushio," he says with a bright smile, even receives a tentative one in return, before the black-haired boy shushin's away. 

"Happy?" Sasuke asks him once they make way back to Tazuna's house and Naruto rolls his eyes and hits his arm in response. 

"Uh... I know we didn't really agree on Uzushio, but... " Naruto trails off, trying to search for what to say. 

Sasuke holds one of his hands and nods, "I know, it's home. Maybe one day it'll be one for me too. We planned to leave Konoha anyway." he says, because he can see, how much this matters to the blonde. The brighter than sun smile he gets in return is worth it, there is probably very little Sasuke wouldn't do only to see that smile forever. 

_ God, he is so far gone. _

\----

In the end, the news of Gato's death spreads like fire, and the village rejoices. They stay long enough to help them build the bridge and celebrate with the villagers. Tazuna names the bridge 'The Great Naruto Bridge' again, after all, he is the one who helped the most with his clones, all four of them leave the land of waves with content smiles and lighthearted banter. Sakura feels that the trip really has bought them closer as a team, and maybe,  _ just maybe _ , now she can fit in there as well. 

Kakashi is confused about the two missing-nin, but he believes that either Zabuza really died and the hunter-nin really  _ was _ a hunter-nin, or they had a change of heart and killed their employer. 

It could be any of the options, or a completely different one, but they did their job, and his team of little genin performed admirably. He worries about Sasuke and Naruto's codependency a little, because ninja die all the time. No matter what he wants to believe, one of their chances of dying is the same as any other genin. 

But his two students, always kept at an arm's length away from the village have finally found someone to rely on again, and who is he to rip that away? Maybe after some time, when the four of them are really are close enough to talk about it, he'll bring this up, but that is future-Kakashi's problem, he'll deal with it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally we move on to chunin exams. I know that this chapter is fast paced, but before they leave konoha there aren't many changes from what happens in canon, so im trying to get that part over with quickly.
> 
> hopefully you guys like it, leave comments please <3


	6. Chapter 6

hello!  
as you guys might've noticed, i haven't updated this book in over three months and i had stated that it has been discontinued. it was mostly due to the fact that i end up hating everything i write once i read it too many times and also due to the fact that i had been going through some school stuff that was really stressful.

but, this is still the first naruto book i ever wrote and the first thing i ever published on ao3 so ig it does have a special place in my works.

first of all, I'd like to thank Rwito who dm'ed me on instagram and is literally the sweetest person ever <3.  
they convinced me to give this another try so i'm publishing a re-written version of 'one step back' on this site. first i thought i'd make the changes in this very book but that's too hard for me to contrast and compare so im adding it as another part to this series. The first edited chapter will be posted tonight and the first few chapters which have already been written will be posted every sunday at 12.00AM IST.

I do not know how much time i'll take to write the new chapters so please be patient with me :)

Thank you everyone who left comments and made me feel better <33

please know that i write this only for self-indulgence, i do not get any money or grades out of it so i don't give it as much thought as my school assignments. thank you for reading ♡

edit: here is the new version, https://archiveofourown.org/works/28776588/chapters/70566720


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